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Data Strategy in Grand Rapids provides IT services for the delivery, accessibility and protection of clients' data and applications. Photo via fb.com

A local data center consulting firm has made a move to become one of the largest in the Midwest.

Grand Rapids-based Data Strategy said this week that it finalized plans to merge with boice.net, expanding the reach of the combined organizations across the Ohio Valley.

The two organizations’ leadership teams will integrate over the next year, with a focus on leveraging each company’s strengths in the other’s existing markets.

Data Strategy

Founded in 2004, Data Strategy is part of Century Technology Group and offers advanced IT solutions and support addressing the delivery, accessibility and protection of data and applications.

The firm has more than 100 employees at offices in Troy, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Louisville, Ky. and its headquarters in Grand Rapids

Boice.net

Boice.net operates offices in greater Louisville and Lexington, Ky.

It employs more than 90 employees to service more than 300 active clients.

“Great synergy” and “bench strength”

The combined firm will offer “advanced technology consulting services” across six offices in four states: Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.

The company will have 200 employees, with half in engineering, and be in hiring mode across all offices to meet expected demand from its new offerings.

Both firms will benefit from advanced relationships with important OEM vendors. Data Strategy is a premier partner of VMWare and a gold partner of EMC, and boice.net is a gold partner of Cisco.

“We see multiple benefits from merging with Data Strategy, especially with additional skill sets in operations, technology and professional services,” said Bill Hall, CEO, boice.net. “The greater level of bench strength will deepen our ability to solve complicated IT projects and address shifts in a customer’s business direction.”

The firm's services will remain focused on data center infrastructure assessment, design and implementation, while managed services will be broadened through an always-open network operations center, along with offerings in storage, VDI, disaster and recovery and managed security.

“The strength of our partnership will be an enhanced customer experience through solution integration and support,” said Dana Jacks, president, Data Strategy. “The due diligence process only confirmed that our two organizations, with similar customer-centric cultures, provide a perfect complement to one another. We see great synergy to drive service breadth and market expansion.”

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